#legendlore

"Beast of the Bog" 2022 made by myself :) created for my video on D&D 5th Edition's Catoblepas!

Grab your friends and escape to another world!

You've found an enchanted portal — a transition point — between worlds. The portal, called a Crossing, takes you to a world you thought only existed in novels and films: a magical land where dragons roam the skies, orcs and hobgoblins terrorize weary travelers, and unicorns prance through the forest. It is a world where humans join other peoples such as elves, trolls, dwarves, changelings, and the dreaded creatures who steal the night. It is a world of fantasy — of imagination.

It is the Realm.

It is Legendlore.

Drawn from The Realm and Legendlore comics, the Legendlore RPG will whisk characters from our world to a magical fantasy realm filled with dragons, orcs, unicorns, and hobgoblins. With over 60 comics published covering three volume runs, The Realm and Legendlore combined became one of Caliber Comics' most critically acclaimed series.

In the Legendlore RPG, players can choose to play as themselves or create a new character employing the 5th Edition Fantasy Rules System.

Tired of being stuck at home? Are you ready for a magical adventure? Here's your chance to find a Crossing and have some adventure in The Realm!

Legendlore was originally a comic called The Realm, first published by Arrow Comics in 1986 and since procured by Caliber Comics, about four people who fall through a Crossing into the Realm. The Realm is home to fantasy creatures from elves to dragons, and the characters discover they too have ‘fantasy powers’ – the jock becomes a Fighter, while the bookish one becomes a Wizard, and so on. They go on adventures and some of them eventually find their way back to Earth.

This is the basic premise of the Legendlore RPG. You cross into the Realm, where you become a hairfoot Bard, or maybe an elven Sorcerer. You can change any characteristics you like. For example if you have hay fever and glasses, you choose if your Legendlore self keeps or drops those. Your identity might not always match your outward physique, but your Legendlore character does. We've also updated the 1980s setting so Realmborn characters represent all ethnicities, genders, and sexualities. No one in the Realm will bat an eyelash at your agender panromantic self.

You are not the first from Earth to encounter the nations of the Realm. The Realm has had Visitors before, and each time these Visitors left something with the Realm: whether it be a new word, or even accidental technology. Some Visitors became stranded and formed their own communities out of an immediate need for survival. These communities can still be found in the Realm, though they tend to be pockets of isolation and have their own customs and concerns even if they are within the boundaries of other nations. Sharp-eyed Visitors may recognize aspects of their world turned into phenomena: in the depths of a forest, they may encounter a glider plane abandoned with vines anchoring it to the soil, its metal rusting, its markings faded under a strange sun its paint was never meant to withstand. These phenomena are considered Strange Things throughout the Realm.

Just as Earth had impacts on the Realm, the Realm can change a Visitor from Earth. Legends are the destinies Visitors may have when Crossing into the Realm: it is part of their Crossing, part of their destiny.

Each character has their own Legend, which affects the story and is built up through relatively minor actions as well as through more obviously weighty choices. Legends are things like “Avatar of Peace” or “Regent of Dragons” or “Heir to the Mountain”: they represent the destiny of You (your character) and mechanically can resemble backgrounds. Perhaps the You you want to be in the Realm is trying to not spread any more violence than absolutely necessary for self-defense. As a Player, you might want their destiny to reflect that commitment to peaceful solutions and to avoid continuing cycles of revenge and violence: thus the “Avatar of Peace” Legend. The seeds of that legend are there, but how does that affect You throughout Your adventures in the Realm?

Curious to hear what a session may sound like? Click HERE to crossover to an Actual Play recording, where three roleplayers are teleported into the Realm, where they must try to find a way home. Hitching a ride thrusts them straight into a missing person’s case, but all is not what it seems. ‘Into the Realm’ is an introduction to Legendlore, and used as an example of a campaign opening.

The Legendlore RPG setting is currently available as a "Rough Draft" text-only PDF file from DriveThruRPG.com. We want to take the next steps to turn this into fully-illustrated, beautifully laid out PDF sourcebook that befits the legacy of this setting.

We also want to take it a step further - creating an 8.5" x 11" hardcover with a beautifully designed, striking cover image printed in four color gloss, with  more than 200 full-color pages and endpapers on high-quality paper stock. Exceptional funding may allow us to add Stretch Goals that further develop the setting and provide additional materials for play, We also want to get at least one print run into traditional distribution and available for sale at game and hobby stores.

The Legendlore RPG uses rules based on the 5th Edition of the world's most popular fantasy tabletop RPG system, and comprises three sections (Player, Setting, Game Master) including an introductory adventure!

During this campaign, we will feature spotlight previews of various sections to highlight the different aspects of The Realm and the Legendlore setting. You can download the entire rough manuscript for free from DriveThruRPG.com now!

The primary goal of this Kickstarter campaign is to create the best version of the Legendlore RPG possible. Your support allows us to fund the best production, use the most appropriate components, and possibly even contract more art for the core book. We hope to not only deliver a beautiful book to all of our backers but, as noted, also fund at least one print run to be sold through distribution and into book and hobby stores that are so vital to our community.

Beyond that main goal, we hope to gain additional funding to explore more of the world of Legendlore, possibly expanding into rules companions and other Game Master and player tools and accessories. The greater our funding for this project, the more resources we can use to explore these scenarios and challenges.

Beyond those campaign-specific goals, we hope to do what our games have always done — build a community invested in each other's stories and shared imaginations. Every person who participates is joining with the goal of bringing this game into the world, and that common goal is a powerful binding element that we can't help but want to share. When you back this project, you join us on this journey and become part of our fantasy family.

Kickstarter campaign ends: Thu, July 2 2020 7:00 PM BST

My newest video of "Legendlore" my art/history D&D series, focusing on Sehanine Moonbow, the Moonweaver